Geospatial patterns and models of subsistence land use in rural Interior Alaska

Abstract

Alaska Native people and rural Alaskans rely on subsistence harvesting of wild resources for their well-being. This study integrates publicly-available data from >30 Interior Alaskan communities to examine the geospatial patterns of subsistence and develop model-based maps of subsistence land use for the region. Through analysis and identification of lands important for subsistence, this study provides a tool to inform sound decision-making on land use and facilitate communication among land users. We found that most contemporary subsistence land use (approx. 70%) occurred within areas that have been traditionally used for generations. The size of subsistence use areas varied widely among communities (approx. 50–25,000 km²) and was directly related to total population. Subsistence land use varied both by resource type and by season, which reflects differences in resource availability and harvesting strategies. The spatial patterns of subsistence land use were strongly influenced by accessibility, which differed between remote and road-connected communities. Our logistic regression models showed that subsistence land use was largely predictable by distance to communities, distance to main travel corridors (roads and/or rivers), distance to lakes (for remote communities), and population size. Probability maps of subsistence use were generated and classified into used and unused areas with accuracies from 83–86%. Results suggest a large spatial extent (353,771 km²) of subsistence land use in Interior Alaska, comprising >60% of the land area of this sparsely-populated region. The outcomes of this study provide a more comprehensive view of subsistence land use patterns and spatial products that may help reduce conflict and inform decisions affecting lands and resources important for sustaining the subsistence way of life.

Keywords

• alaska
• fishing
• geographic information systems
• geospatial modeling
• human ecology
• hunting
• subsistence
• traditional harvest practices